Boko Haram Massacre 45 Villagers in Borno State

Nigeria is set to extend emergency rule in restive states over continuing Boko Haram insurgencyReuters

Nigerian militants have massacred at least 45 people in a village in north east Nigeria, local government officials have confirmed.

Gunmen thought to belong to the ultra-violent Islamist group Boko Haram attacked and destroyed the village of Azaya Kura in Borno state on November 19, Bloomberg reported, citing the chairman of the regional government.

"I wish to appeal to the federal government to take urgent steps and rescue our people from imminent extinction," Shettima Lawan, told reporters in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, as cited by Bloomberg.

"How can people be so wicked to kill innocent people, 45 people at once without any confrontation?" he said.

The village is around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the capital of Borno state, where Boko Haram has centred its insurgency in recent years.

The group, whose name roughly translates as "western education is forbidden," has declared its aim of establishing a caliphate in the country, where it intends to impose Sharia law.

Meanwhile, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has requested parliament extends emergency rule in the state as well as two others in the north eastern region, where the militant group has focused its efforts.

Boko Haram seized the town of Chibok last week, the location form where they kidnapped 200 schoolgirls six months ago, but the town was later recaptured by the Nigerian army.